Electric circuit controlling and protective device



ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLING AND PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed Dec. 24, 1937 3Sheets-Sheet l 1 1 (5 a; 4/ I I 9 4/ 2 IN VENT OR: I 6 JhnGJc/Kson.

1941- J. G. JACKSON ETAL I 2,265,233

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT CONTROLLING AND PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed D90. 24, 1937 3Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I I II 3 l ii! 7 FE 3 I! w I (3 2 i J L4 u llJ k I I:5 IN VENTORJ 2. 4 (57/ w %'TORNEY Fati'uited Dec; 9, 1941 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE John G. Jackson and Ralph H.

Mich asaignora to Square D Company,

Kingdom, Detroit, Detroit,

Mich, a corporation of Mic Application December 24, 19:7, Serial No.181,636

' 9 Claims. (01. 200-114) This invention relates to an electric circuitcontrolling and protective combination and has for'its object theprovision of a new and improved form of such device of simplified andeconomical form.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved electriccircuit controlling and protecting apparatus including a main switchdevice and load circuit protective devices of both the cartridge andplug fuse type.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form ofcircuit protective and controlling device of the plug type including acupshaped receptacle and cover means therefor carrying contacts andcartridge fuse receiving means on its back face. Other objects andfeatures of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following specification and the appended drawings illustratingcertain preferred embodiments of the invention in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the device according to thepresent invention with certain parts broken away.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line I[1I of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line III-III of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line IVIV of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line VV of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a back elevational view.

- vided with an upper Figure 7 is a partial front elevational view withthe cartridge fuse carrying element in its contacts disengaged position.I

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view on the line VIII-VIII of Figure7.

The embodiment of applicants invention here in specifically illustratedand described comprises an outer enclosing box i having an openablecover 2 within which is disposed the circuit controlling and protectivedevice generally.indicated at 3 and a terminal plate 4 for theattachment of the neutral circuit conductor. A front plate 5 is providedwithin the box covering all parts of the interior except the manipulableportions of the device, the front plate 5 thus preventing accidentalaccess to the terminals of the instrumentality and of the connectionplate I while cess to the fuses and switch of circuit controlling andprotective at 3 comprises a unitary base front face a generallycentrally the device: The device indicated cupaffording free ac- 5having in its shaped recess 1 for the reception of the cartridge v fusesand cover to be hereinafter described and, as here shown, four recesses8 for the reception of plug fuse receiving means, the recesses I beingdisposed on opposite sides of the centrally disposed recess 1. The base6 is further prorecess 9 opening toward the back of the base for thereception of the switching parts to be hereinafter described. A cover llhaving a grip handle I2 is provided to hemceived'within the recess 1 andthe cover I I andthe base 8 are provided with cooperating projectingportions l3 and I4 which divide the interior of the recesses intoseparate compartments for the reception of the individual cartridgefuses. At the back face of the cover I i and adjacent the cornersthereof are disposed jaws l5 for the reception of the ferrules of thecartridge fuses. The jaws at one end of the cover have the adjacent legsextended as at H) to form terminal blades and at the opposite end of thecover the are extended as at 20 to form contact blades. Thisconstruction may be readlly seen from an inspection of Figures 2 and 3which show respectively upper and lower sections through fuse jaws andthe contacts with the cover in closed circuit position. On the base 6and in communication with the recess 1 through openings therein aredisposed contact Jaw elements, those adjacent the top of the recess Ibe-.

reception of the contact blades are provided within the recess. Theseare represented adjacent to and on opposite sides of the dividing wall Ias at l8 on the bottom portion of the block and at the opposite walls ofthe recess as at l9 at the top of the recess. With the cover the coverreinserted thereinto the be received within the recesses I! tion withinthe recess the blades are out of contact with conducting parts andaccordingly the circuits through the cartridge fuses are broken.

Within each of the front'recesses 8 is disposed a conducting threadedshell 2| adapted for the reception of a plug fuse and disposed againstthe bottom of the shell 2| is a forked conducting portion 22 having aninsulating washer 23 thereabove. A metallic washer 24 and a conductingsecuring screw 25 may be provided to clamp the forked conductor intoconducting relation with the shell 2| and to provide a central contactby the connection of the screw '25 into conductor 26. The electricswitch according to the present invention comprises a plate or disc-likemovable member 21 of arcuate form having a projecting handle portion 28.The front portion of the disc or plate 21 andthe handle portion 28extend through a slot in that portion of the front of the base 6 whichforms the wall of the back opening recess 9. The disc or plate 21 isprovided with a pair of projections 29 and 3| adapted to cooperate withsuitable abutments on the base to limit the rotative movement of thedisc. At opposite sides of the plate or disc 21 are disposed insulatingsheets 32 and 33. The disc 21 and the sheets 32 and 33 are maintained inplace and the disc is rotatively mounted by a shaft 34. The sheets 32and 33 are provided with registering openings 35 and 36 through whichextend the contact making endsof relatively resilient contact arms 31.The disc 21 is provided with suitable openings in which are disposedconducting bridging contact elements 33 adapted to bridge the opposedstationary contacts 31 in one extreme position of rotation of the disc.The structure and operation of this switch will be more readily apparentwith respect to Figures 4 and 5 where in full line position is shown theOn position of the switch and the Oil! position is represented by thedotted line position of Figure 5, the switching operation simplyinvolving the rotating of the disc 21 in opposite directions so that thebridging element 38 is moved into and out of engagement with thestationary contacts 31. The two contacts 31 at the top of the base aremounted on a front ledge and have mounted thereon solderless connectors39 for the reception of the line conductors. The lower stationarycontacts 31 on the switch are connected by studs 4! to an extension onthe contact jaws l6 and to the conductor 25. To the conductor 26 areattached conductors 42 as by means of studs 43 and the conductors 42extend to the top of the base where they have mounted thereon terminalconnectors 44 for tapping off behind the main switch. The contact jaws11 at the bottom of the recess 1 are extended to ledges adjacent thebottom corners of the base 6 where they receive connectors 45 for thereception ofload circuits extending through the cartridge fuses withinthe recess 1. The forked conductor 22 within the plug fuse recesses 8are extended through openings thereinto to the exterior of the basewhere they terminate in connectors 46 adapted for the attachment ofbranch circuit conductors.

From the previous description the operation of the device will beobvious. By the operation of the handle 23 to its open extreme positionthe circuit is made and broken through the main switching element at thetop of the base and this interrupts the circuit through all the fusedinstrumentalities. In addition the load circuit after removal the covermay be again assembled with the circuits dead by rotating it and againinserting it with-the blades Ill and 20 in engagement with the recessesl3 and IS. The circuit controlling and protective device according tothe present invention provides an extremely compact and economicalconstruction providing the main switch with manipulable cartridge fusecircuits and plug fuse circuits fed therefrom, the parts being mountedtogether in a compact and efilcient arrangement.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenspecifically disclosed, it is understood that the invention is notlimited thereto as many variations will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art'and the invention is to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a plurality of recesses therein, an unfused mainswitching mechanism in one of said recesses, line terminals connected toone side of said switching mechanism, cartridge fuse carrying meansdisposable in another of said recesses. and having their line sideconnected to the other side of said switching mechanism, other of saidrecesses containing receptacles for the reception of plug fuses andhaving their line side also connected to said otherside of saidswitching mechanism, the load side of said plug fuse receptacles andcartridge fuse carrying means being connected to individual terminals onthe base adapted for connection .to load circuits.

2. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a plurality of forward opening recesses and at leastone back opening recess, a cover for one of said forward openingrecesses having provision on the back face thereof for carryingcartridge fuses and having terminals thereon engageable with terminalsmounted on the base, other of said forward opening recesses containingreceptacle adapted to receive plug fuses, and an unfused switchingmechanism mounted in said back opening recess and having an operatinghandle extending in front of said base, line terminals connected to oneside of said switchingmechanism, load terminals for one side of the plugfuse receptacles and the cartridge fuse connecting terminals on thebase, and means connecting the other terminals of said plug fusereceptacles and the other cartridge fuse connecting terminal to theother side of said switching mechanism.

3. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a plurality of forward opening recesses and at leastone back opening recess, a cover for one of said forward openingrecesses having'provision on the back face thereof for carryingcartridge fuses and having terminals thereon ,engageable with terminalsmounted on the base, other of said forward opening recesses containingreceptacles adapted to receive plug fuses; an unfused switchingmechanism mounted in said back opening recess and having an operatinghandle extending in front of said base, line terminals connected to oneside of said switching mechanism, load terminals for one side of theplug fuse receptacles and the cartridge fuse connecting terminals on thebase, means connecting the other terminals of said plug fuse receptaclesand the other carthe load circuits through their individual fusing meanswhile manually controlling all of the load circuits through said mainswitch.

5. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a plurality of front opening recesses therein and atleast one rear opening recess, a cover for a front opening recess havingprovisions on the back thereof for the reception of cartridge fuses andcarrying terminals cooperating with terminals on the base to connectsaid cartridge i'uses in their circuits while providing for removalthereof with said cover, other of said front opening recesses containingreceptacles adapted for the reception of plug fuses, an unfusedswitching mechanism in said at least one rear opening recess, an openingin the front wall defining said rear opening recess and an operatinghandle for said switching mechanism projecting through said frontopening to be forwardly accessible to perform the manual switchingoperation, and means connecting the load terminals of said switchingmechanism to the line terminals of said plug fuse receptacles andcartridge fuse connecting terminals.

6. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a rear opening recess adjacent the top thereof, afront opening recess beneath said rear opening recess, an opening in thefront wall defining said rear opening recess, an unfused switchingmechanism within said rear opening recess having an operating handleprojecting through said front opening for manual operation of theswitching mechanism, a cover for said front opening recess havingcartridge fuse receiving clips on the back face thereof and terminalportions connected thereto, terminals on said base and engageable fromthe interior of said recess by said terminal portions, and meansconnecting the line terminals on said base to the load terminals on saidswitching mechanism, and terminals accessible from the front of the baseand connected to the line terminals of said switching members and to theload terminals on the base.

7. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a rear opening recess adjacent the top thereof, anunfused switching mechanism within said rear opening recess, a frontopening recess beneath said rear opening recess, a cover for said frontopening recess having cartridge fuse receiving means on the back facethereof and terminal members connected thereto, terminals accessiblewithin said recess and connectable to said first mentioned terminals,other front opening recesses at opposite sides of said base and havingterminals therein for the reception and connection of plug fuses, andmeans connecting the line terminals for said plug and cartridge fuses tothe load terminals of the switching mechanism, a plurality of terminalsaccessible from the front of the base, and means connecting certain ofsaid terminals to the line terminals of said switching mechanism andother of said terminals to the load terminals for said plug andcartridge fuses.

8. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a forward opening recess, a cover for said recesshaving unitary spaced clips thereon for the reception of a cartridgefuse, one leg on each clip being extended to form a terminal blade, theextended legs being located at opposite sides of the longitudinal axisof the cartridge fuse when insorted in said clips, contact jaws on saidbase accessible within said recess in position to cooperate with saidterminal blades in one inserted position of said cover, clearanceopenings within said recess and offset from the longitudinal axis of aninserted cartridge fuse similarly but oppositely to the offset locationof said contact jaws, said cover being also insertable into the recesswhen rotated 180 to reverse top for bottom while facing in the samedirection, with the terminal blades received in said clearance openingsto maintain the parts assembled but with the circuit through the devicebroken.

9. An electric circuit controlling and protective device comprising aunitary base having a forward opening recess, a cover for said recesshaving unitary spaced clips thereon for the reception of cartridgefuses, said clips being arranged in side by side sets with the clips ineach set located adjacent to the top and bottom of the cover, terminalblades on said clips formed byi-extensions of a single leg of each clip,the extensions in each set being located upon opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis of a cartridge fuse when received within said set,contact jaws on said base and accessible within said recess andpositioned to receive said terminal blades in conducting relation whenthe cover is inserted in one position, said cover being insertable intothe recess in another position rotated to reverse top for bottom whilefacing in the same direction, with the terminal blades out of contactwith said contact iaws whereby the parts are maintained assembled butwith the circuit through the device broken.

JOHN G. JACKSON. RALPH H. KINGDONL

